|
War is hell. I didn't expect the Vietnam War to be any different. But I never expected that the Devil would be there, to look me right in the eye.
|
|
Private First Class Edward Duggan was an American marine targeted for termination during the Vietnam War.
History[]
During his tour in Vietnam, Edward Duggan met and married a Vietnamese woman named Thu. Together, they had a son, Joey. While Edward was deployed, Thu and their child lived in a small city 25 kilometers northeast of Saigon, where Edward befriended a man named Phan.[1]
By the spring of 1976, Duggan was stationed at the American embassy in Saigon. He had been in Vietnam for thirteen months, and many assumed he was trying to extend his tour simply because he enjoyed the country too much.[2]
One day, Duggan and his friend Hernandez discussed the war’s worsening situation. Rumors spread that the North Vietnamese Army was closing in. When Duggan teased Hernandez about Vietnamese women, Hernandez revealed that he was married, only for Duggan to surprise him by casually admitting that he was too.[2]
Soon after, Duggan received word that the Americans were evacuating the city. Ignoring Hernandez’s shouts to stay put, he rushed out of the embassy, determined to retrieve “a very special treasure” he had hidden during his time in Vietnam. Pleading for time before being reported as AWOL, he rode a military bike to his family’s apartment, only to find it abandoned. There, Phan warned him that the Communists were closing in. Hastily, he gave Duggan directions to a nearby French airstrip, urging him to reach his family before it was too late. Duggan tried to contact Hernandez via radio, but he was out of range. With no other options, he set off toward the airstrip.[2]
On his way, Duggan stumbled upon something impossible: a heavily damaged Terminator, engaged in a firefight with North Vietnamese forces, that immediately identified him as its primary target. Believing it to be a secret Communist weapon, Duggan attempted to flee and warn command, but the Terminator shot his bike down.[2] As the machine advanced, its metallic skull partially exposed, Duggan braced for death. Before it could finish him off, an approaching column of tanks distracted it. Seizing the opportunity, Duggan jumped on his bike and sped away as artillery fire rained down on the machine.[1]
Still reeling from the encounter, Duggan questioned his own sanity, until he realized the machine was still pursuing him. Now reduced to an endoskeleton, the Terminator had commandeered a North Vietnamese tank. Dodging incoming fire, Duggan raced toward the airstrip and used a fallen tree as a makeshift ramp, launching himself over the perimeter fence. The Terminator, undeterred, smashed its tank straight through the fence. Inside the airstrip, American soldiers came to Edward's help and destroyed the Terminator's tank.[1]
Duggan reported to an officer, quickly lying that he had been ordered to check on some refugees. Pressed for time, the officer told him to do it fast and board the next helicopter. After a desperate search, Duggan found Thu cradling their son. Following an emotional reunion, the three boarded a waiting Huey, lifting off toward the Seventh Fleet. Relieved, Duggan shook the pilot’s hand—only to feel an inhuman grip crushing his fingers. The pilot was the still-active Terminator, disguised as the helicopter pilot. Reacting quickly, Duggan pulled his sidearm and fired, blasting off the machine’s already-damaged head. The Terminator went limp, but Duggan realized he had been wounded, likely from a ricochet. As he fought to stay conscious, Thu tended to his injuries, and they managed to contact the USS Peoria.[1]
As they neared the ship, Thu put on a life jacket and jumped into the water with Joey. Before Duggan could follow, the Terminator reactivated, its skeletal hands locking around his throat. Duggan made a choice: if he was going to die, he was taking the machine with him. He crashed the Huey into the sea. Duggan, thankfully, survived the crash. He floated face-down as the Terminator sank into the depths, its glowing red eyes locked onto Duggan’s until the seas swallowed it whole.[1]
Edward and his family escaped Vietnam and eventually built a life in the United States. Years later, in 1997, an older Edward Duggan lay in a hospital bed in Los Angeles, surrounded by photographs of his loved ones. As Judgment Day happened outside, Edward watched the mushroom cloud rise over the city.[1]
Notes[]
- In The Terminator #2, Thu erroneously calls her husband "Andrew" in one panel.
- The relationship between Edward and Harper Duggan is not clear. The glitchy family tree that Skynet displays in The Terminator #8 could be interpreted as them being grandfather and grandson (unlikely given that they are around during the late 1970s looking the same age unless time travel was somehow involved off-screen) or brothers (leaving unclear why Joe is above Harper in the tree.) The comic ended with issue #10, leaving the answer uncertain.
Gallery[]
